Something There (That Wasn't There Before)
by TurnUps
Summary: A series of one-shots set during the first School for Good and Evil book, centering around Agatha and Tedros. Sticking to the canon wherever possible because this mostly just fleshes out their relationship so the romance reveal isn't so sudden. COMPLETE. Language only as bad as the book.
1. One - 'Little Matchstick Girl'

**(A/N): Warning: Extremely long but extremely important author's note.**

 **I read The School for Good and Evil a year or two ago now, and I read it back to back at least twice. I didn't actually expect much of it, but I couldn't put it down. I loved this book. Then Agatha and Sophie kissed and I was head over heels for it. It now sits on the same shelf as the Harry Potter books and The Princess Bride (my favourite book in the world). Needless to say, when they were written off as just gals being pals I was quite gutted. I was so gutted that I haven't actually read the third book, and I don't plan to. I was so disappointed that a story about bi girls being in love was reduced to 'just friends'. I did love the book and I still do, and I think that's why this upsets me so much. It was such a good book that I wanted it to be great. (Someone once told me that the more you love something the more you hate it's flaws.)**

 **In addition to this, Tedros kind of felt like a throwaway character in the first two books. He kind of seemed there for plot convenience and was very much like John Smith in Pocahontas. There was very little to his personality. And very little to his relationship with Agatha. However, there were a lot of chances that, as I was reading it, I saw for a little more chemistry to actually be between Agatha and Tedros. Maybe more scenes of the two were written, but taken out. Anyway, as I was re-reading the first book, I started writing this alongside it, just to fill in some gaps. Because I feel like these two would have some really snappy, really intelligent coversations chocked full of innuendo - like a film noir - *laughs.* (Tedros certainly thinks of Agatha as a femme fatale. Though, I guess that's Sophie in the end.) And I love Agatha (I guess it comes with the name Sophie), so I loved writing more of her finding out who she was.**

 **If you want to have a mature discussion about the novels in depth, then feel free to contact me.**

 **This first chapter is set during the chapter of Dead Ends (I would skim the sections beforehand so you get a little context). Happy reading~.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The School For Good And Evil trilogy.**

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Chapter One/Twelve : Dead Ends

'Little Matchstick Girl'

The sound of two heavy, black shoes echoed around the library, sounding like thunder against the serene morning. (Though all mornings were perfect this side of the lake) But their owner was the only one here, so it didn't really matter. Agatha supposed it was because most Ever girls were too busy preening themselves like cats to come here and that Ever boys were too busy asserting their testosterone levels over each other to pick up a book.

She couldn't take her mind off the school master's riddle. Her only hope of getting home. It seemed to haunt her every moment, popping up in her mind as if to say 'I can't believe you had five minutes peace without worrying about me'. It sent her crazy. And when something sent her crazy, she did all she could to stop making it go crazy. She enjoyed her peace.

So, before classes begun that day, she had dashed to the library and tried to scour every book as fast as she could in the hopes of some glimmer of an answer. But her five second searching proved to be in vain. She'd thought about it so hard that the rash had already started appearing on her neck.

Absently, her hand went to her pocket, to get her matches. Only to find that there _were_ no matches. Because there were no pockets in this blasted uniforms. _How did she not notice before? How did she not_ need _them before?_

 _She had to have matches._ Otherwise, she couldn't last another day here. They were the only thing that calmed her. It would be like parachuting into the ocean. Without learning how to swim. Or a parachute.

Forcing her breaths to last counts of four, so that she wouldn't hyperventilate, Agatha stumbled to Professor Dovey's office. She could recount the way easily; she couldn't forget every movement she had made when she was brought there the last time. When she thought she was going to die.

Eventually, she reached it and knocked feverishly.

"Just a minute, dear," came the Fairy Godmother's voice from inside. She sounded so cheery it was almost surreal, especially when juxtaposed to Agatha's intense panic. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, the twinging nerves in her stomach like wearing those iron shoes again. _If she was going to be any longer..._

Finally - _finally_ \- the door opened. Agatha tried to dart through as soon as it was wide enough for her -

-And found herself bouncing off a boy's chest.

Panic chilled to dread in an instant. She managed to raise her gaze enough to see Tedros standing in the entrance.

The two stared at each other, both completely repulsed, but still standing close.

Then, as though part of some unpractised routine, they both sprung away and avoided each other's gaze. Agatha could feel bile in her throat from the boy's aftershave. _Did they all have to drench themselves in it like that?_

"Oh, Agatha, come in dear," Professor Dovey's voice said from inside the office.

She slipped in without a word, not looking back at the boy. If she had, she would have seen his completely baffled expression before the door swung shut of its own accord.

"What can I help you with so early?" the teacher asked, smiling as she rested her head on her laced fingers.

"Professor Dovey," Agatha was talking so fast her words almost blurred. "Do you by any chance have any matches?"

The woman blinked, almost recalling. Almost.

"Excuse me?" her teacher squeaked.

"M-matches?" the dark haired girl managed to stammer again. She was fiddling with her fingers and it felt like she would be pulling her little finger straight off. "I just - I need them - to, uh, calm my nerves."

"Calm your nerves?" Professor Dovey repeated, as though saying them would prove them untrue.

Agatha merely swallowed and nodded. When Professor Dovey continued to stare at her as though she was a cat who'd coughed up a hairball, she tried to elabaorate.

"I - I light them and watch the tip for a bit. It, just, it makes me feel better, that's all."

Professor Dovey raised a delicate eyebrow, staring at her for just a moment more, then she murmured something about "the little matchstick girl being 'unique' too" and opened a desk drawer. Agatha tried not to stare as her teacher rooted around. But she also couldn't bring herself to look at the sickly paintings and slogans hung around the walls and she didn't want to seem rude by staring at the frosted glass rising in fantastic sculptures or the huge tomes of books, so her gaze fluttered around anxiously.

After what seemed like an age, Professor Dovey said "here you are, dear," in a rather resigned voice, holding out a fat box of matches to the girl.

"Thank you!" Agatha gasped, trying not to snatch them. She smiled for a moment, then remembered Professor Anenome's words - _positively malevolent_ \- and dropped the smile. "Thank you," she murmured again, genuinely as she ducked out of the door-

-And once more found herself face to face with Tedros. To Agatha's surprise - and, almost, satisfaction - the Prince looked _ashamed_. She stared at him; his cheeks were _pink_! _What was going on?!_

He cleared his throat, like he was nervous - but she made a lot of people nervous here.

"I - I spoke to Dovey about the gargoyle." Tedros said.

Agatha scowled immediately.

"You mean, you spoke to her about _me_?" she demanded, heat rising from her cheeks from shame or anger. Or both.

"Yes-"

"Asking her to expel me?" she pressed, raising an eyebrow though she knew the answer.

He did too, and he avoided the question.

"She told me that saving a gargoyle didn't mean someone was a witch, but that they were, well, very Good. So..."

She deepened her scowl and held it for a moment more.

"It wasn't a gargoyle," she repeated her words from an incident. "It was a _boy_."

"Are you sure?" Tedros shifted his weight like he wanted to leave. He seemed so _bloody_ condescending that she pinned his gaze with her glare like a fly with a dart .

"I _saw_ his reflection. I saw him turning back into a _boy._ He was a _child_ , you knobjockey." She poured venom into her words, feeling a twinge of satisfaction when he winced.

"Well I saw - I thought I saw it burnt my father's monument," Tedros muttered, like a scolded labrador retriever.

"That's the thing with boys," Agatha finally stalked past him. "You don't _think_ before you swing."

"At least boys do swing a sword," his voice retorted. "And don't sit in towers making up stories."

In an instant, Agatha spun, her fists clenching over the matchbox.

"That's because, for some unknown reason, girls don't get taught anything _useful_ at this _stupid_ school!"

Her voice had risen to a yell, and Tedros' eyes had widened. She stalked off, elated to be shot of him -

-And groaned when she heard him following.

"I thought most girls _wanted_ to come here - to - either - school, I mean." He said, that confused look on his face again. _It suited him_ , Agatha thought spitefully.

"Not me," she replied as curtly as possible, hoping to put him off. "I was perfectly happy with my mum and my cat and my friend."

"That sounds..." Tedros trailed off.

"Fitting for a 'witch' like me?" Agatha snapped snarkily.

"I was going to say nice," Tedros retorted, but his voice lacked conviction.

Agatha snorted.

Suddenly Tedros' hand was on her shoulder, spinning her to face him.

"Why is it that every girl in this school falls at my feet and you're the only one who hates me?" he asked, as though personally offended. She realised that was the real reason he was speaking to her. The real reason that he cared enough to go to a teacher about her. That made her furious - as though she was just a puzzle for him to figure out.

"Because I see more than your rippling pectorals," Agatha drawled, flicking his hand from her shoulder like it was a spider that had settled there. "You're just a preening pea _cock_!"

"Well - you're just a bitter beetle!" Tedros huffed back.

They both glowered at each other, then stormed down the corridor. Unfortunately, they had to use to same route until they reached the stairs at the end of the passage.

"Stop following me!" Agatha snapped, finally able to turn away from the insufferable boy.

" _You_ were following me!" he yelled back, storming off in the other direction.

From inside her office, Professor Dovey smiled to herself as she marked papers. It was refreshing when students confused love with loathing. She would always remember the two girls - so like Sophie and Agatha - that had such an issue.

Elphaba of Munchkinland and Galinda of Gillikin Country.

Those were two _brilliant_ students.

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 **A/N): ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Needless to say, I also am a big supporter of Elphaba/Glinda. (Seriously though, how different would it have been if Fiyeroh wasn't there?) There's a wonderful scene between the two with a hat and the topic of "thinking" that appears in the book, that may have inspired a couple of these chapters. I fear there's a lot of hidden innuendo with Agatha and Sophie, and a lot of social commentary may have slipped in if you look for it. ^^""**

 **I'm planning to update every sunday for now, as I'm still writing out the chapters. Depending on when I can get it all done, I'll move to updating every other day. C: I hope you liked the start.**


	2. Two - 'Hansel and Gretel'

**(A/N): Hello again~**

 **As promised, I remembered to update today. And I think I've planned out all the chapters for this fic (there should be about nine chapters.) Considering I've written five or six now, it's very likely that I'll be able to update every three or four days instead of every week very soon.**

 **This chapter is set around the end of The Crypt Keep's Solution, or perhaps the beginning of Choose Your Coffin. Again, its more of a flesh out conversation between the two, but I feel like the same themes come up between these two that start to develop throughout the fic.**

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Chapter Two/Fourteen : The Crypt Keeper's Solution

'Hansel and Gretel'

Of all the things that Agatha disliked about being away from her home, she couldn't stand her room. All the frills, all the pink - all the _mirrors_. Wherever she looked she met her own dark, brooding gaze. It barely took five minutes before she couldn't stand it.

So she started studying in classrooms instead. She actually started studying because if she ever wanted to get home, she had to pass her classes. And if she wanted to pass, she had to be somewhere where she could concentrate. Some of it was, surprisingly, bearable.

She revelled in the silence - without girls chirruping away like canaries. She liked it not reeking of a thousand different sickly sweet perfumes. She liked that sometimes little animals sat by her and didn't scurry away when she looked at them. Not _nice_ animals - mostly pigeons and rats (though they could have been oversized mice to a teacher) and the occasional bat. It was a good opportunity to practice talking to him, because, where she despised Princess Uma's airy-fairy ways, she was all the more lonelier without Sophie, and if humans weren't going to hang out with her, maybe animals would. She always preferred animals to people anyway.

Eventually, Agatha found herself frequenting the _Hansel's Haven_ classrooms the most; because then she could snack whilst she studied. (Though, since coming to the school, she found herself being tempted by the candy less and less. She still loved it, but she also considered filching sandwiches and _vegetables_ from the kitchen for a bit of variation. Maybe Professor Anenome's warnings had a subconscious effect...)

She withdrew her mind from the strange thoughts and buried her nose in her book. _Since when did she care about warts?_

Most of the time, she had to roll her eyes at the textbook's content - sickly sweet girly lies straight out of a tween magazine. Sometimes, though, there were parts that held some merit. Puzzling out riddles and being able to tell an old woman in need from a witch in disguise...that could be useful...

The door suddenly opened and she jumped out of her skin. _Was she caught?! Would she be told off for being here?!_

As soon as she saw how it was, however, she hid her surprise under a layer of disgust.

"Oh, it's _you_." She drawled.

"It's normally empty in here," Tedros muttered, his own voice veiled with distaste. He seemed slightly embarrassed to be caught sneaking in. He spotted the piece of gingerbread in her hand and smirked. "Don't you know how much trouble temptation brought Hansel and Gretel?"

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't _Gretel_ shove the witch into the oven?" Agatha simpered in the same sarcastic tone.

"Are you saying that boys are useless?" Tedros asked, venturing into the room.

"Are you saying that they're not?" Agatha closed her book and looked him square in the eye. "What can a boy do that a girl can't?"

"Learn fencing?" Tedros suggested, his eyes glittering. He knew that Agatha hated the school being split into gender classes and it was a blow beneath the belt.

"Good point," Agatha muttered, glowering at nothing in particular. A pigeon, who had been following Agatha around, cooed, then defecated on the floor of the classroom. The boy and the girl looked at it for a moment, then smirked at each other.

"Dovey will have your head," Tedros said, sitting on one of the desks. It sunk a little under his weight, but whatever magic held it in place stayed.

"Well, if I can't fight an ogre or a troll, at least I can make a pigeon poop on them," Agatha said sweetly. She realised she was smiling and looked away - slightly aghast that Tedros would have to see that - forcing her mouth back into its usual shape.

Just like that, the two seemed to remember that they hated each other and there was an awkward tension in the room. Agatha listened to her rat squeak at her and replied curtly and swiftly. _As if._ She felt a gaze on her and her eyes flickered back to Tedros.

"What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious. She had always thought Princesses complete crackpots to talk to animals, and here she was...talking to animals.

"Firstly; that's like talking in a foreign language to your friend, I just get the feeling that you're badmouthing me-" He said, counting off his fingers.

"I was," Agatha said dryly.

"-Second; that's a _mouse._ " He spoke over her.

"If you're scared of mice, then you and Beatrix are made for each other," Agatha allowed herself a smirk when she saw Tedros wince, touching the rat - mouse - between its velvety ears.

"I meant a rat would be more fitting." Tedros shot back, just as venomously.

Agatha recoiled.

The mouse nudged her fingers, it's nose slightly damp.

It drew her gaze to it, and she knew they were both thinking the same thing - _but that's a_ mouse.

"What's the difference between a rat and a mouse, anyway?" Agatha asked slowly. The tiny grey creature blinked up at her with huge dark eyes.

"Rats are for nevers, mice are for evers," Tedros' voice replied. He sounded so certain, considering his argument was so empty.

Agatha sighed, leaning her head back on the windowsill so that she was looking at the ceiling. _What was with this mentality? Was it drilled into these kids from a young age?_

"Do you really believe everything is as black and white as that?" she pressed. "That you're either born good or born evil and that's all there is to it? That you have no choice in who you'll become?"

She lowered her chin so that she could meet his eye. Not unusually, the Prince's face was screwed up in concentration (he often struggled to keep up in Good Deeds, or, any lesson that wasn't physical), but she felt a spark of triumph. _He was thinking!_

Eventually, after at least a full minute of silence, Tedros pulled his hand through his curls.

"Princesses aren't supposed to-" he started.

"-Think?" Agatha interrupted, raising an eyebrow. He flushed slightly but said nothing. "It's a good thing I'm not a Princess then, isn't it?"

His blue eyes stuck on hers. There was such an intensity, beyond the vacancy that she always saw, that she looked away, her finger tracing the spiral patterns the candy made on the floor. She hated being looked at like that - like she was an animal or an enigma he just couldn't figure out. She hated the binary labels of the place - why couldn't she just be _Agatha?_

"I suppose it is," Tedros said slowly.

There was a sudden crash from the corridor, and the ambience of a group of bawdy teenage boys appeared all too suddenly. They both jumped and looked away from one another, as though scared of being caught in the act of speaking to each other. As far as Agatha could tell, girls didn't speak to boys here. If they did spend time with them, it was to be a decoration, like Beatrix. (It almost made her feel sorry for her. Almost.)

A group of the boys, led by Tristan, thumped down the corridor and swung their heads around the door.

"Oy, Tedros!" he called, his face bright red and shining with sweat. Behind him, they continued to throw a rugby ball about dangerously. (Taking out at least three light fixtures.) "You coming for a workout, mate?"

"Sure," the Prince replied easily. It _was_ easier to spend time with guys than with the only girl he knew that _spoke her mind_ to him. (Which he kind of liked - he just wished it wasn't _her._ )

"Was that the witch in here with you?" another one of the boys asked, catching the rugby ball one handed and jostling to get a better view of the room.

Tedros glanced back, ready to call her out and tease her a little (then he wouldn't have to think about her question), but Agatha was gone. A missing piece of floorboard, broken pen and over-sized mouse was all that was left of her.

"No," he said, snatching the rugby ball away. "No, it was just me."

Crouching under the windowsill precariously, trying to find the next step to get back to the ground, Agatha breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart was pounding from the effort of staying hidden.

She loathed Tedros. But just for a moment there, he seemed to think. She kind of liked having a sensible conversation with someone - she just wished it wasn't _him_.

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 **(A/N): Thank you for all of the support - I know I've had some very interesting conversations as a result of posting this fic. I hope you guys will stick around for the end.**

 **(In regards to the third book, I don't think I will ever read it . I have flicked through the ending and I just don't want to sit through something I know I won't enjoy. I'm going to stick to taking the first book as a stand-alone book, which may be a bit a-holeian, but** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯)**

 **See you next week~! C:**


	3. Three - 'Romeo and Juliet'

**(A/N): Hello again! I'm getting quite used to eating lunch on a Sunday and proof-reading a chapter. ^^""**

 **Anyway, exams are all finished so I have two weeks off to finish this fic up - hopefully I shall be able to get it done soon.**

 **This chapters kind of filler - I had the initial idea for a Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction but it seemed to slip in quite nicely with these two. u It's set around the beginning of 'Choose Your Coffin' and says banter way too much.** **(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**

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Chapter Three/Fifteen : Choose Your Coffin

'Romeo and Juliet'

Good Deeds was usually Agatha's favourite lesson. Or, at least, the one she could tolerate the most. For one thing, there wasn't a chance of an animal stampede (though, she excelled in talking to animals now), no chance killing nightingales before they hatched (if anything, her posture seemed to be getting _worse_ ) and the princesses stopped talking about princes for five minutes. (If only because they were in the room and every ounce of their attention was focused on being noticed by said boys.)

Really, the only thing she didn't like was that Tedros had sat next to her, and made remarks to her under his breath. It annoyed her to no end, partly because of the crowd he attracted like moths to a flame and partly because his remarks - despite what he thought - weren't _funny._ He had started to treat her like one of his lads. They all had; throwing banter at her and waiting for her to one-up them every time. It was _weird_ and annoying -

\- But, she supposed, it was better than being treated like a piece of arm candy.

At the arrival of the ever sugary Professor Dovey, the class started to settle down, last scathing remarks were exchanged as they turned to the front.

"I'm sure you all got your invitations to the Evers Snow Ball this morning," Professor Dovey chirped at the front of the class. Agatha's stomach sunk. The last thing she needed after Sophie's behaviour this morning, was to be reminded of the dreaded event. Everyone else, however, whooped eagerly, exchanging conspiratory glances with each other. "I am sure you are all _very_ excited. So today, I thought I'd remind you of the kind of true, never ending love that you can find at a ball. I thought we'd read a little bit of one of the most _glorious_ love stories of all time - _Romeo and Juliet._ "

Agatha's stomach dropped through the floor and she couldn't help but make a face. The boys were making the same pained grimaces. The girls, however, batted their eyelids harder, taken by the stigma of romance that Shakespeare brought.

"A plague upon your houses," Agatha muttered under her breath. She was a firm believer of the 'Shakespeare was making fun of young couples' theory.

Beside her, Tedros gave a chuckle.

"Do you understand a word of it?" he asked as Professor Dovey tried to get the class to settle down. Agatha paid a glance at the teacher, then shrugged.

"To quote Hamlet, act three, scene three, line eighty-seven, 'no'."

He chuckled again, not picking up on her lie. She did like Shakespeare - she liked the darker, tragic plays were people's eyes got plucked out and everyone ended up dead. There was excitement there - backstabbing, tragedy - a real sense of pathos that she couldn't quite understand.

"I thought we would only read act three scene five today as a class," Professor Dovey produced copies of the play from her desk. "It will be a good study of how to impress a partner in a formal event. Do we have any volunteers?"

The boys applied jokingly, Tristan calling out for Benvolio whilst the others scrabbled for Lord Capulet and Tybalt. One volunteered Tedros for Romeo and Professor Dovey agreed before he could wrangle his way out of it. Naturally, this caused Beatrix to snag the part of Juliet only a moment later.

Agatha, having kept her chin pressed to her chest to avoid attention, breathed a sigh of relief. She could read it, but that didn't mean that she wanted to say it out loud. _Especially not_ this _scene._

 _Especially as Professor Dovey was making people stand in the front of the class to read it._ She kept going on about projection as she prompted pronunciation.

As everyone stumbled through, Agatha slowly lost the will to live. Her stomach kept growling, as they were in one of the candy-constructed classrooms, which kept distracting Tedros (who smirked wryly at her every time it happened).

Her thoughts kept drifting to how to get Tedros and Sophie together, every plan seeming more and more futile. She was never going to get home - she ached to be back in the life she remembered, though it was getting harder and harder to remember details. Everything led round in an endless cycle of exhaustion and anger.

And Beatrix, for the life of her, could _not_ read Shakespeare. She spoke so slowly that Professor Dovey told her to stop halfway through.

"That was ...a very good try, Beatrix," the teacher supplied, not very convincingly. "But I think we might give someone else a try."

She looked around at the class. Agatha kept her gaze stuck on her desk, on a line of gingerbread that had cracked slightly. _Don't look at me, don't pick me, don't look at me, don't pick me..._

"Would you like a go at Juliet, Agatha?" Professor Dovey spoke the words of doom so gently.

"I-I'd prefer to read Mercutio," she muttered, her face burning as the boys tittered and murmured to each other. She heard the girls whispering and giggling too.

"Mercutio's not in this scene, dear," Professor Dovey told her gently. "Come and have a go."

She had that tone that teacher's use when you can't disagree with them. Reluctantly, slowly, Agatha stood from her desk and accepted the playbook that Beatrix thrust at her.

"'If I profane', Tedros," Professor Dovey prompted. "That's where we got to."

She had been forcing them to act the stage directions too, which had been slightly amusing when the boys were 'biting their thumbs' at each other (or, the modern equivalent), now, though, it filled Agatha's stomach with dread. She had stood as far away from Tedros as he could, but now they had to shuffle closer together.

Tedros looked equally sickly, taking her hand reluctantly. They grimaced at each other.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand/This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:/My lips...two blushing pilgrims, ready stand.../To smooth that rough touch...with a tender...kiss." He recited stiffly, though he did pause at the most cringiest moments.

"Good pilgrim, you wrong - do wrong - your hand too much," Agatha stammered, pulling her palm from Tedros, who looked grateful for her action. "Which mannerly - mannerly devotion shows in this,/For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands - do touch,/And palm to - palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

She finished her line with somewhat relief, having barely breathed between each line, just desperate for it to be over. She dreaded speaking again.

"Have not saints lips, and holy - holy palmers too?" Tedros' eyes were fixed firmly on the script, but Agatha couldn't help to keep glancing up at him to see his reactions.

 _So he was struggling too._

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer," Agatha started to get back into the feeling of iambic pentameter. She wet her lips self-consciously.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do," Tedros frowned, seeming to guess where this was going and looking deeply troubled by it. "They pray - grant thou - lest faith turn to despair."

"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." Agatha pursed her lips at the 'oooohhhhs' the boys were making, as though watching one of the two's arguments. Surely, their arguments were never this...intimate, were they? There was never sexual tension between them - and there wasn't now.

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," Tedros glanced uncertainly at Professor Dovey. She had been watching them contently, almost relishing the two's rapport. She didn't say anything, watching them expectantly. Agatha stared at Tedros, wide-eyed, begging him not to touch her. He looked at her with a mirrored expression.

Finally, he took her hand again and brushed his lips against it in the briefest definition of a kiss. The boys laughed raucously, nudging each other. Agatha and Tedros both avoided each other's eyes, their faces on fire.

The silence stretched between them.

"Thus from my lips..." Agatha whispered, prompting Tedros to just get on with it. He blinked at her, blankly, then looked back down at the script.

"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged." Tedros murmured. Professor Dovey called out to "project" but it suddenly felt very far away. _How did she and Tedros get to stand so close to each other?_ She could easily place her hand on his shoulder (not that she'd want to).

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took?" she replied, her voice suddenly softening. The words seemed heavier in the air. The boys were still chuckling, but Tedros had lost the reluctance and faint horror (it was okay, Agatha had shared in the horror) and slightly reluctant tone that he'd had before. She'd lost her harsh edge.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!" he frowned again, though not from fear at what might come, seeming to memorise the line with only a glance. His head tilted slightly, getting the tiniest bit closer to Agatha. "Give me my sin again."

Her stomach leapt as he tilted closer to her. She wasn't sure what he was going to do next and wasn't sure what she wanted him to do.

Wolves howled.

The two sprang apart, loathing returning immediately. The two regarded each other with disdain. Whatever spell had fallen over them, had completely and utterly shattered with the end of class.

Agatha all but slammed the copy of the book down onto Professor Dovey's desk, speeding out of the room as fast as she could, her bag trailing behind. The boys howled as she passed and she covered her face with her hair, feeling more uglier and inadequate than ever. _Had she really thought...even for a moment, that she'd be anything like Juliet? That she'd be loved?_

 _When had she wanted to be loved?_

"Hey," Tedros appeared at her side as she half slid down the stairs, desperate to discuss plans with Sophie to get home (this romantic nonsense was starting to get to her) and just be able to slip away from Evers in the blue forest.

"Leave me alone," she snapped, hiding her face.

"I didn't enjoy it either," he retorted, catching her elbow.

"Then let's just forget about it!" Agatha pulled away, reaching the end bottom of the staircase. "Just leave me alone."

"You're just going to forget about it?" Tedros remained glued to her side. "We - we almost-"

"But we didn't," Agatha interrupted. "We didn't. Nothing happened."

 _But what if it had?_ a little voice in Agatha's head whispered. _Would you have gone home? Would you not be able to get home? What would Sophie say? (That one was easy - Sophie wouldn't hear of this. It was a necessary secret.)_

That was when the Ever boy's finally caught up and Agatha could give Tedros the slip.

Because, in parts of her that she pressed as deeply into her as possible, she didn't want to forget either. There was a second in which she felt like a princess.

But she wasn't.

Was she?

But if she wasn't a witch either ... then what was she?

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 **(A/N): And that's it. If I get to finish drafting the end of the fic then I'll definitely start posting chapters closer together. I know people want quicker updates, but I don't want to through out everything I've got written, then get writers block/busy in normal life, not write, forget about it and then leave it unfinished. That's why I always write at least three chapters before I even think about publishing.**

 **In regard to the events of the third book (which I'm still contacted about); I'm still dismissing them. Like they say about Steve Rogers being Hydra - "I recognise the council has made a decision, but given that I [disagree with it very strongly] I have elected to ignore it."**

 **The next chapter finally has a bit of Sophie and very thinly veiled slash. ^^""**

 **See you next week (hopefully sooner)~!**


	4. Four - 'Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle'

**(A/N): Unfortunately, I didn't manage to draft the full fic in the week, however I am writing the last chapter now and hope to get it done today...so there's hope.**

 **In regards to the chapter title, the full story of Gawain and Ragnelle can be found on wikipedia. I have read some of it's original form and it's an old English poem. (It can be quite hard to get your head around unless you know what's going on. ) Also, because it's mentioned later in the chapter, soveryenté means free choice/opinions.**

 **This chapter takes place in the chapter Cupid Goes Wrong and ties in to the actual events. It was fun to have their animals in the background.**

 **Enjoy! C:**

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Chapter Four/Sixteen : Cupid Goes Rogue

'Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle'

Sometimes bunnies have bad mouths, ogres can be nerds, wolves can be petty, ostriches can be friendly and cupids can be jerks.

Agatha learnt all of this almost immediately when 'Animal Communication' week rolled around. (Sophie called it 'Henchman Training' week, which worried Agatha slightly, but, she supposed, if that was what the school for Evil called it, her friend couldn't help it.)

And, as if it wasn't bad enough putting up with the menagerie in the school for good - the small animals got under everyone's feet, the larger animals tripped everyone up and if you were stuck with an _ostrich_ (as Agatha was), then you risked getting your eyes pecked out every two seconds - in Surviving Fairy Tales it was almost completely impossible. Fights and scuffles broke out every couple of seconds, and in between this someone's companions made a brink for freedom.

To make things completely grim, Tedros kept trying to _speak_ to her.

"Look," she told him now, "Mercutio and Romeo are in a homoromantic relationship. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

 _Because every time you talk about Romeo and Juliet, I'm reminded of that stupid almost kiss._

"But Romeo loves two girls over the course of the play," Tedros argued with her. He was way too close (a good three steps away) for her to be comfortable. ( _Lynx_ cloud.) But Sophie wasn't paying attention - she was still trying to tug her cherub along and Agatha supposed Tedros wanted to stay close to her so that he wouldn't have to be with Beatrix and her ridiculous bunny.

"Yeah," Agatha couldn't resist replying to him. There was something risky about it - if Sophie saw them she'd go insane. Agatha knew she should talk about _Sophie_ ; do her part to get him in love with Sophie, but at the same time - she almost enjoyed talking about meaningless things. She still hated him, but their mutual hatred had developed into sarcastic banter that she'd almost come to anticipate. "He's bisexual, you puffed up pop-tart."

"That's a thing?" Tedros blinked at her so stupidly that her fingers itched to punch him in the face (again).

"Of course it's a thing," Agatha spat.

At a peck on the head (which was much gentler than a couple of days ago), Agatha turned to her ostrich. It blinked at her, then turned its head to the side and offered what it had kept in its mouth all this time. Surprised, she took it from its mouth and a small smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

Gingerbread.

She had taught it how to steal from Hansel's Haven. Evidently, it had stolen some in Good Deeds and kept it until it knew she was in a huff. She kind of loved that bird. They had really bonded over the last few days. It was a close second to Reaper.

Agatha was just about to take a bite when the gingerbread was ripped from her fingers.

She whipped around accusingly, but she was too late. Tedros had already taken a bite of her delicious contraband. Agatha punched him in the shoulder, but he barely stumbled and just chuckled at her.

"Girls get warts if they eat candy," he said smugly.

"And boys don't?" she spat back. "Careful, I think I see one appearing."

"Where?" Tedros' eyes widened in fear, which made Agatha smirk.

"Riiight," she leant over, almost on tip toes to make up for the height difference. "There!"

In an instant, she had snatched the gingerbread from Tedros' hand, taking her own bite satisfactorily.

Something whizzed past her ear. At first, she thought it was a fly (or dragonfly - they seemed more common in this place), but then she saw the arrow lodged firmly in a tree trunk, still quivering slightly.

"What-" she started, but then spotted the cupid, already drawing another arrow to shoot at her again. Sophie was behind it, gaping wide-eyed at her friend.

Yuba had paused in his drawl about wells, but the subject matter had given Agatha an idea on how to not end up like something in the Queen of Heart's garden.

Just as the next arrow was released, she dived behind the wishing well that they had been studying, covering her head with her hands.

Instead of losing the sensation of being alive, Agatha heard a clinking sound. Hesitantly, she raised her head to see Tedros standing over her, deflecting the arrows with the side of his sword. From this angle, she could begrudgingly admit that he was good with that thing.

"Call that thing off!" Tedros yelled, his hair shining like a halo against the blue of the forest.

After one more arrow (which fell dead centre into the well), Agatha heard Sophie's voice too.

"Grimm! She's my _friend_!"

When no more arrows appeared, Agatha deemed it safe to reappear. The winged demon was grinding its teeth and glaring at her. She avoided its gaze, only to find herself staring into Tedros' blue eyes. Suddenly, she felt the familiar snap of anger from the first time they met.

"I could handle it!" she said, pushing his shoulder. (Though he only stumbled a half-step backwards.) "Don't get involved next time!"

"You're welcome," Tedros spat after her as she stalked away.

She half turned to stick her tongue out at him, linking her arm in Sophie's.

"I'm so sorry, Aggie," she gushed, her eyes - so similar to Tedros' - were wide.

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Agatha tried to smile, but her lips only twitched. Sophie was so worried about her - and she had been talking to Tedros. _Sophie's_ Prince.

Maybe she _was_ the scheming witch that would keep these two perfect people apart.

Yuba had cleared his throat and continued on his speel, but Sophie tugged Agatha's thin arm closer.

"Did Tedros say anything about me?" she 'whispered' (Sophie was one of those people who couldn't whisper to save her life), into Agatha's ear, her lips soft against the shell of it.

"Uhm," Agatha blinked at her, her focus scattered by the action. "Erm, sort of."

As she looked at Sophie, she knew she would have to stretch the truth for her friend's sake. She wouldn't be able to bear breaking her friend's heart - especially not after whatever happened to her in The Doom Room. (Though, she was still breathtaking with short hair.)

"What did he say?" Sophie gasped, batting her eyelids in such a way that Agatha almost lost her train of thought again.

"He was talking about Romeo and Juliet," Agatha said slowly. Her heart pounded as Tedros looked at her, half with hate and half like a scolded puppy.

"Ohh," Sophie's breath fluttered. "Yes! Yes! Oh, Aggie!"

Sophie gripped Agatha's arm with bot hands and shook her gently in excitement.

"That's it! I'm Juliet, and Tedros is my Romeo!"

The Nevers heard and gave her disgusted, second-hand embarrassment stares. Beatrix heard and gave an uncontrollable, spiteful laugh. Tedros heard and paled. Then his eyes traced to Agatha's and he opened his mouth. She shook her head sharply to stop him from saying anything that would incriminate her.

Sophie didn't see any of this. She was too busy creating fantasies, Agatha could see them forming behind her eyes. She looked so full of hope that she almost glowed.

Her own heart sunk. Of course, she wanted her friend to be happy, but not at the expense of cutting herself out of the picture.

The whole white lie had only made her feel worse about herself. But if she hadn't twisted the truth like that, she would have had to explain why she was talking to Tedros - which _she_ didn't even know.

She'd never kept a secret from Sophie. Ever.

So why was she doing it now?

The school must really be getting to her.

Nevertheless, she nodded along to Sophie's daydreams, allowing herself to be lead around the woods, only half listening to Yuba's extensive lectures. Her ostrich supplied her with more candy, and to her smug satisfaction, was one of the best-behaved animals. She supposed she had the upper hand in that bird calls were her strong point. (Though Sophie hated her talking to the animals at all, as she "couldn't understand! What if you're gossiping about me?!")

It was only when she was heading back to the dormitories that Tedros appeared at her shoulder again, smug wolf and all.

"I wanted to let you know that I was trying to deflect the arrows back onto you," he said, sounding decidedly bitter.

"And here I thought you were competent with _that_ sword, at least." Agatha half turned back, allowing a sneer on her lips.

Tedros flushed bright red.

Yet, he still followed her.

"I don't understand," he started.

"It's called an innuendo - muppet." Agatha said.

"No, I mean - you're not a princess. And princes don't protect witches, so-"

"I see you haven't advanced from our discussion - is there no in between?"

They had reached the staircases that they were supposed to separate at. But they hadn't separated.

"Well, you're hardly a squirrel," Tedros snorted. He considered her. "Maybe you'll be a hobgoblin."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" she shot back, watching Tedros' face burn for the second time, then she dropped her smirk and her sardonic tone. "What would _you_ be, if you could choose?"

Tedros blinked.

"Me," he said automatically, as though it were obvious. Then he seemed to think for a moment (though it looked more like he was in pain), before changing his answer. "A plant would be good. No stress there. You?"

"Plants don't have exams or tests or scores," she agreed. Then she considered. "Asking a lady her preference is what gave Sir Gawain a beautiful bride."

"I know - that's why I -" Tedros' flushed pink this time and coughed; as though he were embarrassed to admit that was what he was hoping for. ( _Was_ that what he was hoping for?) "-My dad; Gawain was his knight."

"Ah, of course," Agatha said as conversationally as she could. Her heart was thumping and she knew why - though she didn't want to admit it. ( _What_ if Tedros could turn her into a princess? Just like that? Did she even want that?)

"You don't look any different," Tedros supplied. He sounded...Sympathetic? Disappointed? Agatha wasn't sure which would she would prefer - him feeling sorry for her or him thinking he could solve _her_ problems.

"I haven't been cursed," she shrugged. "But I will be if I don't finish my essay on 'beetroot is the best product for the skin' - discuss."

"Sounds -" he cringed. "-Interesting. More interesting than sword techniques, anyway."

Agatha's eyebrow rose of its own accord.

"Switch with me, then." She said.

Tedros laughed; the kind of laugh that sends most girls giggling on the floor. She didn't.

"Maybe after you get soveryenté." He said.

They stood there for an awkward moment. There was nothing else to say; but they were still here. The wolf and ostrich regarded each other wearily, shifting from foot to foot.

"I should probably shower," Tedros stammered after a moment.

"Yeah," Agatha agreed, though she was half relieved she could leave. "You always do stink a bit."

The two left, animal companions tagging along behind them.

 _If only things were like the story,_ Agatha thought as she climbed the staircase.

 _In real life, if you're a woman with soveryent_ é _, you get branded a witch._

* * *

 **(A/N): Thank you for all your kind words - it means a lot to me that people enjoy my writing! I'll try to update on Tuesday or Wednesday this week as well. vuv**

 **See you soon!**


	5. Five - 'The Cat and Mouse in Partnership

**(A/N): So it's wednesday over here, but it might still be tuesday in some places of the world, so I'm gunna say that I met the deadline! ^^"" I actually went out with some friends for a belated birthday meal yesterday so I didn't write at all. (We went to build-a-bear, tho u)**

 **Anyway, I thought I'd give an early update, then update on saturday. Then I'll update twice a week so people have a chance to read the update and I don't spam inboxes - but the draft is all done!**

 **This chapter is set in Cupid Goes Rogue and it actually runs into the chapter, so it might be a good idea to keep the book handy.**

 **I wanna talk more about the chapter at the end, so I'll see you down there.**

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Chapter Five/Fourteen : Cupid Goes Rogue

'The Cat and Mouse in Partnership'

Agatha missed the ostrich sometimes. Obviously not the razor sharp beak or shed feathers on her floor. But she missed the companionship.

And how she had trained it to peck Tedros to get him to stay away from her. Because, regardless of a _few_ conversations, they were not friends. She would never be friends with someone like _him_. A prince. A boy.

Yes, regardless of a few conversations, she still hated him. So she had tried to stay away from him, shrinking away whenever he made eye contact. He wouldn't be her friend. He _couldn't_.

He needed to fall in love with Sophie. Then they could go home. She _wanted to go home._

 _She wanted to go home...right? Before this school sent her crazy._

Tedros had to fall in love with Sophie.

So why wouldn't he leave _Agatha_ alone?

He was at her side again as they traipsed through the forest for Surviving Fairy Tales, and Agatha still couldn't figure out if he wanted to get away from Beatrix, of if he actually wanted to be friends with her. _Agatha_ wanted to be friends with Sophie, and stay close to her (especially as they were climbing trees today and she would hate that), but ever since the love potion conversation her friend had been distant. Agatha suspected she was going ahead with the plan and wanted nothing to do with it.

What aggravated her the most, was she felt the worst part was knowing Tedros would be absolutely livid.

"Hey," Tedros said as soon as Yuba had finished his speech and they were searching for suitable trees to climb. "Do the girl groom rooms ever have any soap? Whenever I go in the guys, we're always out."

"I wouldn't know," Agatha replied briskly, finding a tree with a low enough branch for her to reach. "I don't go in them."

"But you're in the top five," the prince was reclining against a trunk, watching her stretch to reach the branch.

"I know," she jumped and finally caught a grip on it. She hung there in the air, trying to use her arm strength to pull the rest of her onto the branch.

"Is it because of her?" Tedros nodded his head towards Sophie, who was alone on the other side of the clearing, fiddling with something in her lap. She kept glancing up at the two, and Agatha felt a rush of shame. She shouldn't be talking to him.

"She would use them," Agatha evaded his question, still hanging from the branch helplessly. "But pigs and monkeys don't sit around looking in mirrors, so why should we? Just get on with life."

"Better to be a human being satisfied than a pig satisfied," Tedros replied. He finally pushed off of the trunk and laced his fingers together for her to use as a step. She accepted his lift up reluctantly, straddling the branch.

"What are you on about?" she muttered, swinging her legs down. Tedros ducked to avoid them. She hated how there was a glitter in his eyes.

"I don't know," he shrugged, then knocked own of her dangling feet. "My dad said it a lot. I guess it means we have a higher purpose that animals don't."

Agatha snorted.

"What, to preen like cockatiels in front of mirrors?" she asked.

He didn't answer. Instead, he reached up and swung lesurely from her branch. She reached up to the next one to avoid him. Her fingers just grasped it when he spoke again.

"You could be pretty if you tried, you know."

She almost fell from the tree.

Then she regained her balance and crouched down. Tedros still had one hand around the branch, but he was looking right at her.

"What's the _point_?" she said. She felt like she was repeating herself. Then she sat properly once more and nudged him in the chest with her toe. "You said it yourself, I'm a witch. And witches aren't meant to use groom rooms."

"Maybe a witch is better than a princess, sometimes," Tedros said slowly. His eyes, as blue as the branch she was sat on, glazed over slightly.

"What?" she asked under her breath, hopping down from the branch at the change of tone. She landed heavily on the balls of her feet, and they stung, but she ignored them. Because, for once, he sounded genuine. Like a real person, with real troubles.

"Sometimes," Tedros swallowed. "Princesses run away with knights, you know?"

 _Gweneviere._

Agatha felt her heart soften slightly. _Of course._ That was why he had become so obsessed with her and Sophie. Because his mother - the princess - hadn't behaved like one - like her. But she looked like Sophie, who was a never. _He didn't know who to trust anymore._

But if he believed that Sophie was a witch disguised as a princess...that made her something Agatha was sure that she wasn't. He must be sure of it too.

"I'm sorry," she said, though she wasn't quite sure what for. "That must have been tough."

Tedros shrugged, though he had the smallest of smiles on his face.

"It's okay," he said, seeming to look past her. "I just wonder if-"

"I hope you two are working over there!" Yuba's shrill voice cut through the air, making them both wince.

At once, Agatha realised how it must look, talking so quietly, with Tedros' arm looming over her. _When had they gotten so close to each other?_ She stepped away from him, feeling heat rise to her face.

Tedros turned away as well, reaching for a blue hornbeam branch.

Something small and pink flew at him. For the split second it took for Agatha to register its existence, she realised what it was. And hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

It turned bright red and, as though possessed, flew back towards the sender. Which was, of course, Sophie, who, of course, let out a primal scream.

Everyone turned just in time to see the huge 'F' appear on her clothes.

"For Failing to abide by the rules." Yuba glowered from his position in a tree. "No spells until _after_ the Unlocking."

Agatha's heart sunk with disappointment as Beatrix, in that insufferable way of hers, confirmed that it was a love potion. Whilst everybody burst into peels of laughter she felt ready to howl. She wasn't just heartbroken that she might never get home now, she was furious with Sophie. _After everything she had said...! Did Sophie never listen to her?_

But it was hard to keep glaring at her when she had ran off, sobbing painfully. _She was still her friend. And right now, she needed Agatha._

Agatha started after Sophie, swallowing her own 'I told you so', but Tedros grabbed her elbow, pulling her back and twisting her around to him.

"Did you _know_?" he demanded, his face flushed with rage.

" _No_!" Agatha snapped, her eyes flashing. It was only half a lie. She knew Sophie had been thinking about it - but not that she'd actually go _through_ with it.

Tedros released her elbow, though he still looked at her as though he didn't believe her one bit.

"Love potions are vile!" Agatha spat to reiterate her point. "They're _ridiculous_ and cruel.I don't know why she-"

Agatha broke off. _Did Sophie really want to go home that badly? Or did she just want Tedros that badly?_ As her best friend, Agatha should have been able to tell. But she couldn't.

"You're so _honest_ ," Tedros stared at her, seemingly oblivious to the class around them. Agatha supposed he was right (just not at this very moment) - she was the only girl who told him exactly how much of an idiot he was. "Why are you friends with _her_?"

He said 'her' the same why he used to talk about Agatha, and that made her even madder. _Everything was the wrong way around._

"Sophie's a good person," Agatha said. "She's just...confused."

With that, she sprinted from the forest, desperate to catch up with Sophie and deaf to Yuba's screeching. She had to make sure her friend was okay. She had to make it up to her.

 _...Sophie liked having pretty things._

 _...Agatha hated mirrors..._

It all clicked into place and she veered off into the School for Good instead. She knew what she would do - what she had to do - give Sophie a mirror.

Get her best friend back. Set everything on the right path again.

Because she _couldn't_ be the princess in this fairytale.

* * *

 **(A/N): And that's it!**

 **The story of the cat and mouse in partnership was written by Hans Christien Anderson (it might be floating around online if you google it). Basically the cat lies to the mouse and eventually eats the mouse. I'll leave you to interpret who is who in the story. u**

 **Thank you for all the support - I know I was writing in little gags for myself as I was writing but I didn't realise other people would laugh! :V**

 **I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.**


	6. Six - 'The Fir Tree'

**(A/N): As promised - a new chapter!**

 **(I am VERY tired. I was spellchecking and I was just completely out of it. It's not even that late for me... )**

 **This is probably my favourite chapter out of the bunch - it's officially set in The Empresses New Clothes but the inspiration came from Cupid Goes Rogue (as Agatha mentions near the end of the chapter that she was doing the washing up.) however, for my idea, I was in need of magic, which is unlocked in chapter seventeen. So...**

 **I'll talk more about other things at the end.**

* * *

'Chapter Six/Seventeen : The Empresses New Clothes'

'The Fir Tree'

Agatha still couldn't figure out why helping with the washing up was a punishment. She always helped with the washing up at home. That was why, even when she wasn't being punished for one thing or the other, she volunteered to help out. It was the perfect opportunity to study.

Well, most of the time.

If you were stuck with a bunch of Everboys guffawing in the corner, however, you couldn't get a single thing done.

Tedros had been even worse since the love potion incident, not only did he (and his friends) stick to Agatha like gorilla glue, but he had started to make cracks at Sophie too. That was what Agatha couldn't stand - it was one thing to insult her, she'd heard it all before - but not her friend.

They were still chuckling about the love potion incident, calling her _best_ friend both a witch and some choice 's' words. It made Agatha's blood boil like a screaming kettle almost instantly.

"Don't call her that," she snapped, bubbles flying as she pushed a plate into the now lukewarm water.

Tedros, for a moment, looked ready to oblige, but one of the other boys took over.

"Well, we know the witch isn't _this one_ ," he said, with a nasty grin. "She's touching water and she's not melting."

As usual, soft 'ooooohhhhs' were exchanged, even though it wasn't even that witty a comment. Agatha gritted her teeth.

"How do we know she's not?" another flicked the bubbles jokingly and they landed on Agatha's cheek.

She could see her finger start burning bright orange under the water. Just the image gave her an idea, and she was suddenly extremely glad that she was ahead of the class in terms of magic. Especially weather magic.

Because that was the last plate. Which gave her the perfect opportunity to...

 _Woosh..._

 _Splash!_

As Everboys groaned from the disgusting, dirty washing-up water that had just been dumped upon them, Agatha allowed herself a small smile and darted from the room. Her triumph was short-lived, as their words, about both her and Sophie, had cut her deeply.

She thought she'd be able to ignore them all at the beginning of the year; that it was nothing she hadn't heard before. But now, even if it was just because she wanted to get home, she was trying to be _good_. Or, at least, not evil. However, no matter what she did, she was still labelled the same way she had been all her life.

Maybe Pollux and Castor were right. Maybe her soul was evil. And there was nothing she could do to change it.

Maybe they had just got the schools mixed up.

Agatha let her feet guide her, sticking to the minimal shadows that the School for Good cast. Within minutes, she was back in the forest, surrounded by the varying shades of blue, which glittered and danced invitingly in the dusk.

Ever since the trip to the Schoolmaster's office, Agatha had continued to visit the Stymphs. After she had gotten over the skeleton part, they could actually be quite loving. Like her ostrich, they were good at reaching fruit, and were quite affectionate.

Most of the time, they were miles better than humans.

She liked heading down to their nest; sometimes to study and sometimes to pet them on their spiny necks. For some reason, they made her feel better about herself; like she could fit in here - with the other strange creatures.

This evening, they spotted her shining eyes from beneath her fringe (which really was getting too long) and butted her cheeks tenderly. She felt as though she was receiving friendly pats and nestled her head into one. Surely she wasn't a witch.

 _But she was in the School for Good. They couldn't have mixed up the schools..._

 _Maybe she was a Good witch? Could she be a_ good _witch?_

Maybe it didn't really matter to her what she was, as long as Sophie remained a perfect, shining Princess. That was her destiny, and Agatha would do whatever she could to see her friend smile.

"I figured you were a witch," a sudden voice said.

It made Agatha jump. She recognised it immediately, without the glance of golden hair that she saw. She hid her eyes from Tedros, turning into the stymph. They were regarding Tedros with curiousity, obviously recognising him as an Ever but unsure of why he was here.

"Stymphs like Evers," she mumbled.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tedros approach somewhat cautiously. He squatted at the edge of the nest. Despite herself, Agatha sniffed, glaring at him so he wouldn't think that she was crying.

"...Sorry...about them," Tedros muttered. "I've told them not to, but..."

"But you don't want them to think you like me." Agatha finished.

The prince opened his mouth, maybe to disagree, but then he nodded, looking pale. She seemed to have an uncanny habit of guessing what he was about to say.

"Like is a strong word," he said instead, with a frown.

Agatha didn't _like_ Tedros either. Though, she realised, she didn't mind his company. He could actually be amusing at times...and he could really hold his own in a battle of wits.

But she could never like a _boy_. Especially not one like him. Especially not one that her best friend had to kiss.

But her best friend wasn't listening to her. So maybe it was okay to talk to him.

"What you said, before," she said now, wiping the last remaining tears from her eyes with the heels of her palms. "About witches being better than princesses. Sometimes witches aren't witches. Sometimes they're just people."

"Sometimes people - the 'just people' who go here - are just destined to be plants." Tedros shrugged. He shuffled the tiniest bit closer to the nest, then rested his back on it. Unfortunately, it looked like he was here to stay for a while.

"Do you ever think about that?" Agatha asked quietly. "If it would just be easier to get low ranks and become a plant?"

"All the time," the back of Tedros' head tilted backwards slightly. At the same time, a stymph leant forward to examine him and the two exchanged awkward eye contact before he continued. "Plants don't have to worry about anything."

"But why can't we just be _normal_?" Agatha pressed, hugging a stymph's bony ribcage to her as it prodded her hairline once more. Her voice dropped until it was barely audible, and the words slipped out. "My mum's not a _witch._ She's a doctor."

There was a long silence. Agatha didn't know why she said it. She didn't want to share anything with this boy. For a while, she thought Tedros hadn't even heard her.

But then he turned, ever so slightly so that she could see the predominant line of his nose in the twilight.

"Maybe my mother was never a Princess," he murmured. His skin looked lilac and primrose in the light. It felt like they were exchanging some sort of secret. "Maybe she was just a person."

" _Maybe we all are_."

They had said it at the same time. And now they stared at each other. A girl sat in a nest and a boy sat outside it.

 _When did he start looking so normal? So bearable?_

 _When did Agatha start feeling that, despite their differences...she related to Tedros?_

Wolves howled.

They both registered the sound, and in an almost dreamlike state, stood. Both had their minds on the other. On how different they were to their first impressions. On how they both felt like they'd finally found someone to talk to.

As Agatha went to step outside the nest, she realised that Tedros had held his hand out to help her. She hadn't realised and was already half way out. _Why did she feel so awkward about that? Was it purely habit - because she knew she'd score a ten (at least) if she did so in class?_

"That's why we're here, you know," Tedros said slowly after a while. "Because we can be so much more than just _people_."

"I'm not sure I want to be," Agatha replied. She felt unguarded, as though she was speaking entirely from the heart. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

What was a bad thing was the way Tedros had stepped closer, his arms stretching. With a jolt of fear and panic, she realised he was coming in for a hug and stepped away. Her heart was racing at the thought and she felt nauseated. (Though that might just have been the overdose of cologne.)

Tedros seemed to realise what he was doing and he suddenly dropped his arms. He cleared his throat, pink flushing to his cheeks. Agatha felt the same way.

A breeze stirred the clearing, ruffling their hair.

The sight of Tedros' hair in the sunlight made her guiltily remember Sophie. _This was her chance to say something - to get them together!_

"You know, whether she's a witch or a princess," Agatha started, fiddling with the hem of her school uniform. "Sophie's...she's really great. You should...give her another chance."

For a moment, Tedros looked disappointed.

Then his expression was guarded. The softness he had shown just moments ago vanished without a trace.

"Right," he said.

"Right," Agatha nodded, her voice trailing off in the silence.

" _Better get back to dorms._ "

Once again, they had spoken at the same time and once again they stared at each other for a moment.

They both started walking, annoyingly completely in step.

But they didn't argue, or try to outspeed each other. They just kept walking.

Still, it felt any progress they had made was completely demolished by Agatha's comment.

And she wasn't sure that was a good thing.

* * *

 **(A/N): So. That's it.**

 **The story of The Fir Tree is another Hans Christian Anderson one (I sense a pattern u). Basically the tree wants to be a Christmas Tree and it's wish comes true! It then...proceeds...to regret...it's life choices. (I find this story highly relatable...O O) Anyway, I thought that tree was kind of like Agatha.**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews! They really make my day!**

 **I'm thinking I'm going to update again on Wednesday...:V**


	7. Seven - 'The Ugly Duckling'

**(A/N): Hello again! I know I said I would update yesterday, but I have a very very good reason not to: I have a cold. Which means I've been complaining about having a headache, drinking ten types of tea and playing on Assassin's Creed Black Flag. "" And I was back at college, so there's that.**

 **This chapter's set in 'I Have A Prince'**

 **(I'll talk more at the end.)**

* * *

Chapter Seven/Nineteen: I Have A Prince

'The Ugly Duckling'

Agatha had thought that, without Sophie, she would be lonelier than ever. (If you don't count critters, that is.)

But, contrary to that thought, Kiko had suddenly stuck to her like gorilla glue. She supposed she might just be Snow Ball advice dispenser; as Dovey consistently mentioned Agatha's strangely high marks in Good Deeds. Though, if it meant a friend, Agatha supposed that didn't matter. Maybe she could get back at Sophie somewhat - so that she could be just as backstabbing.

Easier said than done. Kiko was adorable and lovely, but after the same three conversations about the ball repeated seven times, Agatha was starting to have enough. She could barely enjoy her lunch with Kiko twittering in her ear like a songbird.

"Oh, that reminds me," Kiko suddenly broke off from her seemingly rehearsed script, turning to Agatha with huge brown eyes. "I was going to try on dresses tonight - if you wanted to join me?"

"Oh, um," Agatha pinked at the very thought. But then she heard Sophie's angelic laugh from across the clearing and said "sure" before she could really think it through.

Kiko, for a moment, looked like she was about to take back her empty gesture. But then she burst into a wide, cheerful smile.

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Oh, can we use your room? Then it'll be just us!"

 _So that was it,_ Agatha thought regretfully. _Still...this was what normal teenagers did, right? And she wanted to be normal. No, she_ was _normal._

"Of course," she said obligingly, trying for a smile, then thinking better of it.

"Awesome," Kiko turned back, presumably to catch another glance at Tristan, then she saw Agatha's notebook in the grass. "Oh, and, can you help me with that essay that's due tomorrow?"

Agatha sighed.

"Sure, you can copy mine if you like," she muttered.

"Thanks, bestie!" Kiko squeaked, enveloping Agatha in a suffocating hug.

But through Kiko's ringlet curls, Agatha caught sight of Sophie, who was looking at her, almost astounded at Tedros' side and she felt a surge of triumph.

If Sophie could have a Prince, then Agatha could have a friend.

That night, five minutes before Kiko was due to arrive, Agatha was painfully conscious of what a mess her room was. Of the piles of uniform and notes and the general scratches and scuffs on the mirrors and paintings.

But it was too late to do anything now.

Maybe she wouldn't notice.

Unfortunately, Kiko did notice. The first thing she asked when she opened Agatha's door was: "where did that huge mirror go?"

"Oh, um," Agatha felt herself pale. _She couldn't say that she had given it to Sophie!_ "It got broken? Yeah, I just, I accidentally bumped into it getting ready and it...smashed. The sprites haven't...brought up...a new one?"

Kiko stared at her, one eyebrow slightly raised for what seemed like an eternity.

Then she burst into a bubbly grin.

"I see!" she said. "That sucks - they should have done that by now."

"Yeah well," Agatha shrugged. "Guess Beatrix has first priority."

That made Kiko genuinely laugh and Agatha felt her heart warm. _Did she have a friend? It felt like she had a friend?_

"Anyway," Kiko continued, then spoke some of the most inspiring words ever - "let's get down to business."

She dumped armfuls of clothing onto Agatha's bed, which Agatha eyed with a mixture of fear and repulsion. There was a lot of pastel colours, frills and lace. All raised numerous warning bells.

"You're trying _all_ of those on?" Agatha asked, incredulous.

"Of course," Kiko chirped, holding a rose pink dress up to herself. "Since all the boys aren't asking anyone to the Snow Ball anytime soon, I have to be prepared!"

"Of course," Agatha echoed dryly.

"Try some on, Aggie," Kiko continued, tossing some frills her way.

Agatha couldn't help but cringe. Only _Sophie_ could call her Aggie. And that would never change. It _could_ never change.

"I'll pass, thanks," she said, flicking the frills back with her toes.

However, trying dresses on turned out to be a difficult process. Kiko required Agatha's help to meticulously tie up the back, played twenty questions on whether it 'fit' her right and proceeded to stare at it from all three hundred and sixty angles in the many mirrors.

After four dresses, Agatha gave in. She was partly curious to see what the fuss was all about and, much to her deepest shame, a part of her _wanted_ to try the dresses on. To be a girl.

No one would see her.

It would be like an experiment; to see how _they_ live.

Glancing at Kiko, who was tugging at her gorgeous curls, Agatha picked through the heap of dresses gingerly. Eventually, she found a putrid, lime green coloured one, though thankfully easy on the frills it was heavy on the lace.

" _What_ is this?" she asked, her lip curling.

Kiko turned from the mirror, her amber dress reflecting tenfold around her.

"Oh, that's _hideous_!" she gasped, though she was grinning from ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. "You _have_ to try it on!"

Agatha said all that she needed to with a look.

"Oh _please_! It'll be such a laugh!" Kiko's eyes got wider than a deer's. Those eyes must have had some sort of power because Agatha found herself agreeing.

It _really_ was _hideous_ , she thought. The lace came up to her neck and there wasn't any opaque material until she felt like her boobs were popping out. The skirt flounced around her like tissues, sticking to her legs, which looked all the more match-thin.

She _really_ was _beautiful_ , Kiko thought as Agatha turned around, her signature frown and angry blush on her face. It wasn't fair, that something so hideous would look so _good_ on Agatha. The vibrant green made her skin look like ivory and complimented her dark hair; it appeared shiny and exciting. The tight fit, even though the school uniforms were just as bad, complimented what little shape she had - like she was a model.

"You look..." Kiko breathed, then she seemed to realise that calling her 'smoking hot' may be overstepping the friend mark and settled for. "Pretty."

"No, I look awful," Agatha shook her head, her brow furrowing.

"No! No - it looks wonderful on you," Kiko tugged at the skirt, making sure it fell as it should. She noticed that Agatha wasn't looking at the mirrors, and tugged her over. "Look!"

" _No!_ " Agatha snapped, pulling away immediately. Her cheeks went pale, but instead of looking gaunt, she looked like a marble statue. Maybe not an Aphrodite, but an Athena, or an Artemis.

Kiko recoiled, like a scolded dog. Then, to appease her, she let a cheeky grin appear on her face.

"Should _I_ try something awful on?" she giggled.

"...Sure?" Agatha seemed unsure on how to reply, like she didn't know the right answer - as though she had never done this before. Maybe she hadn't.

Probably she hadn't.

Kiko darted over to the pile and selected a rotting-coloured yellow dress. The yellow from fungus and sick. It frilled lavishly around the collars and sleeves. In short - it was more hideous than Agatha's.

She slipped it on and it hung in all the wrong places.

To her surprise, she heard a giggle. When she looked up, she realised it was _Agatha_. A real, genuine giggle. Kiko hadn't known she was capable of so happy a sound.

She started giggling too. It reached a point where they were both laughing so hard that they could barely stand up and they ended up in a tangled heap on the floor.

But Kiko thought, as she clung onto Agatha, completely breathless, on how beautiful she looked. Especially with a smile.

 _Maybe sometimes ugly ducklings really did turn into swans._

* * *

 **(A/N): I know it doesn't have Tedros "", but I think that Kiko's kinda an uncredited character. She was really fun to write as well - I had this image of a Glinda/Charlotte kind of character that would really bring Agatha out of her shell. (Part of the inspiration for this actually did come from the time that I read half of Wicked. ^^""" I really loved a scene between Elphaba and Glinda.)**

 **There's another part like this in the final chapter actually...only it has Beatrix as well. :BB (Whom I realised I'd been spelling her name wrong for most of this fic - so I'll be going back and changing that at some point.)**

 **Thank you so so so much for all of the lovely words! I know I don't reply but they really do mean a lot to me!**

 **I'll try to update again on Sunday...but be careful what you wish for. There are only two chapters left...**


	8. Eight - 'The Little Mermaid'

**(A/N): Hiii!**

 **I realise I haven't updated in a week - and I'm really sorry! My cold got better but I kept getting these terrible headaches that would disorientate me and render me powerless to all but Netflix and X-Reader fanfics. In drama, a flip went slightly awry because my friend didn't move when they started flipping me (she's supposed to dart under and take me place) and I hit my head on my friend's leg because of the confusion. I'm pretty sure I got a concussion lmao. Anyway, that's why it's taken me so long.**

 **This chapter is set in the chapter of Nemesis Dreams - and I feel it's really much needed. These two really needed to clear the air after the Trial by Tale.**

 **Enjoy! C:**

* * *

Chapter Eight/Twenty Two : Nemesis Dreams

'The Little Mermaid'

 _No matter what happens,_ Agatha told herself, _no matter what happened, she's my friend. She'll always be my friend._

 _Always._

But what did you do when your best friend thought you had betrayed her? At first, she wouldn't speak to Agatha...now she didn't even come down for lunch. Agatha wasn't sure who to turn to for advice...or comfort. Because she was just as confused.

Well, Agatha considered, she could have gone to Kiko - but she was so overexcitable and not exactly tactful...so that left one option.

The stymphs.

Of course, her secret base had been infiltrated by the bumbling baboon Tedros long ago, but she hoped he would be too busy to be lingering around there. He must have something better to be doing.

She was wrong.

Because, as she pushed through the bright indigo leaves, she spotted his silhouette. What brought her the most surprise, was that he was _petting_ the stymphs. He was using his knuckles, as though he was giving them a noogie, but they were making grating, chirping sounds to show they were enjoying themselves.

For a moment, Agatha dithered. Maybe she should just go back to her room and sulk.

But one of the stymphs had somehow spotted her with its sightless eye and crowed in greeting.

Tedros' blue eyes turned to Agatha and she froze like a deer. _What should she do?_ It had been the first time she had seen him since the Trial by Tale and she wasn't sure what his reaction would be. She wasn't sure what her reaction would be.

"All that glitters is not gold," he said, speaking as though it were hard to conjure the words. "And sometimes gold is hidden in rubble, you know?"

He had gestured to the stymphs, but the metaphor was not lost on Agatha. _She_ was the Stymph...and that left Sophie as the glitter. But surely she wasn't. Surely she was _so much more_. Surely she was a complex diamond. As surely as Agatha was buried in rubble.

But she didn't tell any of this to Tedros. She couldn't find her voice. She only made one hesitant step into the clearing and allowed the silence to stretch on.

"Do you know anything you can put on a headache?" Tedros said after a while. His voice was soft. Vulnerable. Vulnerable enough for Agatha to step forward once more.

"What?" she asked, completely baffled.

"Your mother was a doctor, right? Did she tell you anything you can put onto a headache?" his eyes flicked to her again and she looked away. She wouldn't let him read her like he usually could.

"Um, not really," Agatha murmured. "Maybe ice?" She paused, licking her lips. "I-In Othello, Desdemona tries to bind his head with a handkerchief."

"How does that turn out?" Tedros pressed, his voice just as low.

"Well she drops it and that's the evidence Iago uses to claim she's cheating on Othello and they both end up dead." Agatha said. The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. All her brain was telling her was to run, but she was stood there, talking about _Shakespeare._

"So, not good." Tedros replied.

"No," she added, almost uselessly.

The silence pressed on.

"You have a headache?" she asked, completely stating the obvious and completely feeling the fool for it.

"Yeah," Tedros said. "I just keeping thinking about the Trial by Tale. About her. And you. And...it's driving me insane."

 _It's driving me insane too._

She wanted to say it. She was desperate to say it. But she didn't. Agatha stayed quiet. A Stymph butted her hand but she felt rooted to the spot.

"I know I can trust you to tell me the truth," Tedros continued after a while. He didn't say 'you' as though he was being spiteful about Sophie, but she still winced. "In all those challenges...I never picked Beatrix or Sophie, did I?"

He had turned to her and he had taken a step towards her. She wanted desperately to move away - to come up with some witty retort - but she could hardly breathe. He had figured it out. She had never thought he was clever enough to figure her out; to realise that for some reason they kept being drawn to each other. She didn't want to say the word fate but...well it was kind of like fate and she hated that. (If she was going to _like_ this moron, she'd choose to do so of her own accord, thank you very much...Not that she liked him, or anything.)

However, there had been a tiny part of her, a part that had only come to light in the past couple of days, which had _hoped_ he would figure it out. If only so that he didn't pull that horrified (but polite) face when he thought that he'd been pulled towards Beatrix. But also because she half-wanted some credit; some recognition that he was pulled towards her because she was _good_. She couldn't bring herself to even think about whether she had wanted him to discover her secrets because she _liked_ him. That was in _conceivable_.

Agatha hadn't said a word, but she knew it was clear by her expression that she had answered Tedros' question fully. He knew everything that was going through her mind. And she could read his face just as clearly. Confusion and hurt but also...gratitue and _affection?_ (Then, more confusion at the said affection.)

"Agatha," Tedros said, looking pained. "It was always you, wasn't it...? Even...talking? At least, the reasons I gave Sophie a chance were...were you."

Her brain was frozen. _What was he saying? That he was giving her a chance? He didn't seem enraged or even mad when he_ should. _He really_ should _at the way they had treated him._

"I'm furious with her," he continued. Just continued speaking. Like a _Furby_ that won't shut up. He was pulling them both down into a hole of uncertainty. "But you did save my life...and you've always been saving my life."

All of a sudden, he grabbed her hand. It seemed to kickstart her memory. She had to stop him, had to stop this. _Sophie, home, true love's kiss._ She couldn't do this. This wasn't her. She could never let it be her.

"Thou talkst of nothing," she blurted out. Something in their hands touching had triggered the memory of the scene in class. Agatha knew he'd read the whole play too and suddenly a plan was coming into her mind. "Thou talkst of dreams."

"True, I talk of dreams," Tedros frowned as he continued the scene, clearly baffled but trusting enough to follow her lead. "Which are the products of an idle mind, begot of nothing but a vain fantasy, which is as thin a substance as the air and more inconstant than the wind-"

 _There was her chance._

"This wind you talk of, blows us from ourselves. Supper is done and we shall come too late." Agatha finally got the courage to step away from him. Her hand slipped out of his slowly, like she was pulling through caramel.

Almost in time with her, she heard the wolves howl for dinner.

She didn't even wait. She just turned tail and ran.

She felt awful about leaving him there. But she felt even more awful about herself. _What was she doing?! She couldn't do this!_

 _She couldn't let herself fall in love with a Prince..._

 _It would be like leaving Sophie to turn into seafoam._

* * *

 **(A/N): The final line is a reference to, surprise, the Little Mermaid. (I know, more Hans Christian Anderson - I can't help it - I read that book cover to cover.) What's interesting is that in the original, the sea witch keeps her word. She turns the mermaid human with the warning of seafoam, but she doesn't transform to take the Prince like the Disney version. The Prince just...falls in love. It's even more heartbreaking because of how patronising he is to the mermaid. uvu I wasn't sure if Agatha or Sophie was the mermaid (or even Tedros? Heck, it would work quite well as Tedros...) but I thought it fit the whole love triangle thing well.**

 **I'm happy that everyone liked Kiko - she'll be returning in the final chapter! Thanks as always for the wonderful reviews - I shall hopefully update this weekend!**

 **xx**


	9. Nine - 'The Nightingale

**(A/N): And this is the finale!**

 **And by finale, I really mean it. I often get a lot of reviews that say 'write more' when I finish a fic but honestly I cannot see any continuation after this. My job will be done - you'll see what I mean. (And, personally, I really don't appreciate reviews like that. It just seems kind of ungrateful...like I'm a fic dispenser that you can put a pound into to get a chapter. )**

 **This chapter is set in the chapter Magic In The Mirror. I'll talk more at the end. vuv**

* * *

Chapter Nine/ Twenty Three/Twenty Four : Magic In The Mirror

'The Nightingale'

Agatha almost didn't bother to open the door.

She really hadn't wanted to. She hadn't wanted to do anything. She'd barely gotten out of bed in the past week. It felt like she had no purpose. That she could never feel anything again. She was just a husk. A dead girl waiting for a prince to revive her.

Only she was no princess. And no prince was coming to save her. The incident in the woods had seen to that.

Maybe she should have said something to him. It could be nice to have a friend right now. Even if it was a boy.

She had been contemplating this for the five hundredth time when she had heard the knock. She had ignored it as she'd had an itching suspicion that it was Professor Dovey trying to convince her to come back to class.

But then the knocking had continued. Nervously and feverishly.

It wasn't enough to motivate her to get up, but it was enough to motivate her to point her finger at the door. She didn't even need to remember Sophie's words clearly to get her finger to glow brightly.

The door swung open and she frowned at the two people silhouetted in it.

Kiko, who had not spoken to her since the trial by tale.

And _Beatrix._

Before she could question them, both of them dived into the room and held the door shut as though on the run from a horde of beasts. Beatrix held the door closed with her back in a very un-Beatrix like way, where Kiko peered through the crack in search of pursuers.

Agatha was going to ask ' _what_ do you think you're _doing_ ', but she realised she didn't really care all that much. Nothing could really faze her when her best friend had cut her off.

"We thought here was the safest place to come, what with Sophie's attacks and all. She'd never hurt _you._ " Kiko gasped, turning to Agatha. Agatha didn't point out how they hadn't even asked to seek refuge here, she was busy mulling over how ironic the small girl's words were.

"Isn't she your _friend?_ " Beatrix asked incredulously. "Can't you ask her to call the attacks off?"

Agatha shrugged.

Kiko must have been at least adept as facial expressions as, when she had calmed down enough to take Agatha in, she frowned.

"What's happened? You look upset." she asked, moving over to perch on the end of Agatha's bed like a cockatiel.

"I thought she always looked like that," Beatrix muttered, finally coming away from the door.

"We," Agatha swallowed. It felt like there was an egg in her throat. "Sophie and I had a fight."

Kiko made symathetic noises that both Beatrix and Agatha ignored.

"It looks..." Beatrix looked around and her nose only partially wrinkled. " _Normal_ in here."

"What were you expecting?" Agatha spat back. "Cobwebs and cauldrons?"

"At least the walls painted black." Beatrix murmured like a scolded puppy. Like how Tedros used to seem when she overstepped the line.

"Beatrix, don't be mean - Agatha's had a hard time! We have to be supportive!" Kiko interrupted, flouncing over to pull on Beatrix's arm like a small child.

"What? So I'll let you stay in here?" Agatha snorted.

"No - because we're your friends!" Kiko argued, her eyes doubling in size.

"She's _not my friend_!"

Beatrix and Agatha had snapped it at Kiko at the same time and she visibly winced.

Then Beatrix's face flushed.

"But, I mean, if you'll let us stay here...I guess I'll help to make you feel better." She said it nonchalantly, checking her nails carelessly.

"I never said I wanted your help," Agatha said sullenly.

 _She'd never said she wanted it...but she also never said she hadn't._

And so, Kiko and Beatrix took it upon themselves to plop down on either side of Agatha's huge bed.

"Whenever I'm sad, I get one of the girls to pamper me in the Groom Room," Beatrix said, straightening up the crumpled duvet. Then she seemed to remember who she was talking to and raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "But I don't suppose _you_ like that sort of thing."

"We could go get a board game - that's what I do when I'm upset!" Kiko added, but she too frowned almost immediately. "Of course, that would mean we'd risk going in the hallway."

"Is Sophie really cursing the Evers?" Agatha asked. Her voice was low and husky from lack of use.

"All the Evers but you," Beatrice said. Her eyes flicked over Agatha's just as they did the first time they met. "I don't know if that's meant as a compliment or an insult."

On the one hand, maybe Sophie was being nice to her by not including her but on the other hand, maybe she was being extra spiteful. Maybe Agatha wasn't being cursed because Sophie had always viewed her as a Never. And always would. Especially now.

"I suppose we could play non-board games like Never Have I Ever and Truth or Dare." Kiko continued to talk to herself, oblivious of the pair's exchange.

"How would we play Never Have I Ever without anything to drink?" Beatrix said, barely raising an eyebrow but sounding so dead-panned that Kiko flushed fuchia pink.

"Truth or Dare it is, then," Kiko muttered.

At first, Agatha refused to play. She had no interest in either truthing or daring. However, Kiko and Beatrice played the game so innocently, like primary school children, that after a couple of rounds she started to join in.

She never really _forgot_ that she was sad. Rather, the sadness wasn't ruling her every waking moment. It lingered in the back of her mind like a bruise, but it was okay. She was having _fun_.

Over time, as everyone became more relaxed, playful banter started to emerge. Beatrix became almost tolerable. Agatha had never really had anyone make an effort to cheer her up like this. Sophie wasn't that sort of friend. And that begged the question, in Agatha's mind, if she was a good friend at all?

Agatha had expected everything to go back to normal once the attacks stopped and classes resumed as usual. But it didn't by a long shot. Beatrix, whilst still keeping her distance, had sat by her in Beautification and had even started cracking jokes.

On top of that, she had a stunning revelation; thanks, in part to Professor Dovey. She wasn't a witch! She could be beautiful - she _was_ beautiful! Her new self-confidence was exhilarating and scary and the same time. She couldn't believe that she felt so positively about herself and there was no chance that she would go back to who she used to be.

The school really had done some good. It had helped her find herself. To grow. It wasn't the way she thought she was going to grow, but over time she realised that she wanted things to continue just as they were. Her budding friendship with Kiko and Beatrix opened new possibilities to do the girly activities that she had always scorned but secretly wanted to try, whilst she could still fit in and joke around with the boys.

And, of course, if Sophie ever forgave her, then she would have her best friend by her side.

Of course, just because Agatha felt like she changed, that didn't mean she was a completely different person. For example, she still talked to animals more than she talked to humans (now smaller birds and mice as well as deers and foxes had started chatting to her) and she still wanted to visit the stymphs.

And for some reason, on that day, she headed down to visit them, absently plaiting her hair. It felt like everything was going right. That she was her own person. She was finally _Agatha._

She couldn't help telling the stymphs about it as she sat with them, rubbing their heads with her knuckles. Her chattering attracted a few other birds, but they were quickly scared off by the stymphs, who viewed them as nuisances.

Agatha just laughed at the whole exchange.

Then she spotted the figure that had just appeared in the clearing and stood suddenly, heat flushing to her cheeks. She wasn't sure why. She usually didn't bother to greet him.

"T-Tedros," she wasn't sure why she was stammering. _Maybe she had been replaced with a girly Ever!_

"I've never heard you laugh like that," he said. He had a half smile on his face as he looked at her. He was looking at her like he didn't realise he was being watched and it made her cheeks burn even redder. _He had a look in his eyes... like the way someone looks at the moon._

Then he seemed to realise it too because then Tedros cleared his throat and pink appeared on his own cheekbones.

"Looks like you found your soveryenté." Tedros said.

It was a clever comment and she should have replied to him quickly. Said something just as witty. Instead her mind went blank.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Agatha could barely get the words out. "I just realised that the whole world is a mirror."

"What?" Tedros looked just as deprived of air.

"I don't know," Agatha shook her head to try to clear it of the butterflies. "Anenome used to say it a lot. I guess...it means...if you smile at someone, they can't help but smile back. And smiling makes people happy."

 _God...did she always sound this much of a ditz? What was she saying?!_

"You've got a good smile," Tedros said. Four eyes widened at the statement and Tedros tried to cover himself up, not very successfully. "I mean - um, a lot of girls have good smiles, but, uh, not saying you're like other girls or anything, um-"

"You said that once I got soveryenté, you would switch classes with me," Agatha blurted out, mainly just to stop him from talking.

"Oh, yeah, um, well," Tedros stammered. "I could show you a few moves with a sword, I guess."

"Tis but a scratch," Agatha smiled. _Finally she was getting back into the swing of the conversation._

"You know, I'm starting to understand that thing you said about Mercutio now," Tedros said. He took a step towards her. And she took a step towards him.

 _Was she really going to do this?_

 _But what about Sophie?_

She never got an answer.

Because, just as always, wolves howled.

And they walked out the clearing together. Not talking to each other. Not quite touching each other. But together.

And Agatha had just figured out what was going on. And it wasn't good.

 _She was in love with Tedros!_

* * *

 **(A/N): The Nightingale is another Hans Christian Anderson story - and it's really very sweet. The Nightingales song brings tears to all that hear it - and eventually brings the Emperor back to life. (So I guess in a way, Agatha was brought back to life by a Prince. :B)**

 **Thank you so so so so much for all the reviews left on this story! I now have a folder of all the emails I get when I have a review. If you've liked this chapter - please leave a comment and let me know! I love hearing from you! (And I could talk about this book all day - so feel free to message me to let me.)**

 **I've had a lot of fun writing this fic - I've loved Agatha and Tedros' conversations and Shakespeare references. I've loved tying them into fairy tales and I've loved slipping in Agatha/Sophie stuff. I'm personally really proud of it and feel it reflects me very well.**

 **If I ever write anything School for Good and Evil again...it will probably be Agatha/Sophie. Sorry, but that's where my heart really lies. :V**

 **Again - thank you so much for joining me on this journey.**

 **Bye bye! :3**

 **xxx**


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